Leica LTM Amazing -- People recognize LTM Leicas

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
I have been stopped more than once by people asking for help in photographing scenery. I have even had them hand me their camera to photograph them.
 
Nothing like what’s being described happens around here. Ever.

From many decades of experience I can tell you that certainly no SLR’s like Nikon F, Canons, Pentaxes, Minoltas, Olympus, even Exakta, nothing like that get attention.

Not Leica M or Barnack, not Rolleiflex, not Mamiya RB, not Hasselblad of any form (500, 553, SWC), not Fuji GW690.

Not Pentax Auto 110, not Minox 8x11, not GR-1, not Pen FT, not Nikonos V.

Not SX-70. Not folding pack-film Polaroids.

Here, anything older than the latest iPhone is invisible.
 
I was stopped the other day by a college student who recognized my modern Leica from across the yard and wanted to talk about <obscure video encoding topic and why he wants a Sony> which was strange.

Otherwise, my rule is to just nod and say "yes, it's a Hasselblad, thanks" regardless of whatever camera it actually is and walk on. If it's in my hand, I'm probably shooting, not shooting the breeze?
 
I get the most questions and comments when shooting panoramic cameras.

On a recent ferry trip I had a Kraken 612 w/47mm with a lightmeter and viewfinder on top. A dad sitting near me spent about 10 minutes explaining to his kids how a film camera worked after he saw me loading it.

Last week shooting this one...
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and I had one person asking me if it was a stereo camera and a few others were asking about it. I think it is the size and material that gets people curious. Haven't had the same with large cameras like the Fuji GSW690 or Pentax 6x7.

When I use my HorizonT I get questions too. It is just obviously different enough that people get curious since looking straight at it you don't see the lens.
 
Zero Image wooden pinhole camera, 6x6 cm, several 45 minute twilight exposures on a tripod near waterfront. Hundreds of people. No attention.

Not using cameras to get attention, but other places have people more interested in cameras.

Photos came out good.
 
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I was walking out of SeaWorld in San Diego when another pedestrian gestured to my Leica S2 and asked what it was. I had black gaffer tape covering the front of the prism and just answered "it's an SLR" and he said "yes, thank you" and hurried on. I felt a little bad about stiffing him on the identification but that's why I had gaffer tape on it!
Another occasion I was just at the end of a medical appointment and the doctor said "what's with the antique camera?" referring to my M8. I just turned it so he could see the back screen and he got the idea!
 
I had someone insist my M2 was an "Ektachrome" a while ago. His friend replied "Naahh bro, Ektachrome is film!"

I wander around San Francisco with various cameras all the time. Rolleiflex gets the most attention by far. I have a regular sized one and a pre-war Baby (127 format) one, and occasionally people will even notice the baby rolleiflex being smaller than normal.

Very occasionally I get "hey is that a leica" about equally with the M2 or IIIg but not often at all. I was out with a 4x5 Graflex SLR (from 1928) once and a couple on their porch were fascinated, and went and got their whole family to come out for a group portrait; I left a big print of it on their doorstep a couple of days later but never saw them out again. But it was fun!

Pretty much everything else is invisible, though I don't really go out of my way to show off the cameras I'm carrying.
 
For me, living in a small, northern Michigan town, TLR's always get attention as does my 4x5 Crown Graphic. My Canon IV-SB does too. Interestingly, it's always the 20-30 year old crowd that comes up to me, though the Yashica Mat does get the attention of older folks.

Jim B.
 
Dralowid said:
Leicas were supposed to be discrete...
Click to expand...
You just gave me at thought… …HCB and his Barnack seemed to be cloaked. He had a way of disappearing or being almost invisible - or at least not noticeable - while he was photographing. He blended in quite well with the surrounds. He did have a mildly aloof countenance while out-and-about; so perhaps, people caught a vibe of ‘do not approach’?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an anecdote where he was ever approached with questions about his camera or for photographing in general. But again, those were different times.
 
raydm6 said:
You just gave me at thought… …HCB and his Barnack seemed to be cloaked. He had a way of disappearing or being almost invisible - or at least not noticeable - while he was photographing. He blended in quite well with the surrounds.
Click to expand...
...and he didn't even bother covering half his camera in gaffer's tape. He must have had magic powers - that's the only explanation.
 
raydm6 said:
You just gave me at thought… …HCB and his Barnack seemed to be cloaked. He had a way of disappearing or being almost invisible - or at least not noticeable - while he was photographing. He blended in quite well with the surrounds. He did have a mildly aloof countenance while out-and-about; so perhaps, people caught a vibe of ‘do not approach’?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an anecdote where he was ever approached with questions about his camera or for photographing in general. But again, those were different times.
Click to expand...
www.theguardian.com

Jane Rangeley is snapped by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, 1973

A huge owl was being bombarded by little birds. The moment we moved away, I said: ‘Why was that man taking our photograph?’
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

I think a man hiding behind a tree taking pictures today might be problematic....
 
shawn said:
www.theguardian.com

Jane Rangeley is snapped by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, 1973

A huge owl was being bombarded by little birds. The moment we moved away, I said: ‘Why was that man taking our photograph?’
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

I think a man hiding behind a tree taking pictures today might be problematic....
Click to expand...
I just walked across the street to get a sandwich for lunch and someone hidden behind a bus stop was flying a drone around taking pictures of people on the street - maybe this is the 21st century equivalent.
 
shawn said:
www.theguardian.com

Jane Rangeley is snapped by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, 1973

A huge owl was being bombarded by little birds. The moment we moved away, I said: ‘Why was that man taking our photograph?’
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

I think a man hiding behind a tree taking pictures today might be problematic....
Click to expand...
"dressed discreetly" is the phrase she uses to describe HCB.

Boring clothes (tuned for the particular location) are a hidden part of the photo bag. As true on the street or in a church as in a birding blind.
 
Took my Leica IIIa and summar lens to a restaurant in rural Taiwan. The propietor immediately recognized it as an antique camera. She asked how old it was. When I said 1938 her jaw dropped. Barnacks do have a mystique.
 
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